Elongated occluding devices, such as embolization coils, are typically prepackaged in a loading cannula. Most also incorporate a stability collet designed to provide radial stability to the cannula for proper alignment inside a catheter port.
For delivering the occluding device into the catheter port, the distal end of the cannula must be aligned with a longitudinal bore distally adjacent a catheter well. If the occluding device exits the distal cannula end while a gap exists between the distal cannula end and the longitudinal bore, the coil may not enter the longitudinal bore and may instead curl up in the catheter well. As a result of such a premature delivery of the coil in the catheter port, the coil, the loading cannula, and possibly also the catheter, are discarded.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce such waste.